Halloween is pretty much my least favorite time of year, mostly because I’m scared of the dark and axe murderers and people wearing masks that look like deformed ghosts, and all of those things take over North America at once on October 31st each year. That being said, I can’t argue with an invitation to get all dressed up and channel my favorite character, fruit, celebrity…whatever.

Three years ago, I was going through a tough time in my life and decided to be a dark, sexy unicorn (think leather horn, leather tail, leather dress...basically just black leather molded into unicorn props). This year I’m going through another rough patch, but instead of focusing on the dark, I really want to channel the glimmers of hope and light that I’ve been feeling, so I decided to go full-out magic, sequins-and-glitter, super-fancy ethereal unicorn. I mean, if I have to face headless people, zombies, and ghosts, I’m going to bring my sparkle!

HAIR

I thought about just dyeing my hair rainbow for this tutorial, but I wanted to work with something anyone could do, so I stuck with hair chalk. I used Kevin Murphy Color Bugs in pink and purple, plus a bit of oil-free blue chalk from the craft store, brushing bits onto my hair and then blending the colors with my fingers. With this much prismatic color in my hair, there’s no way a vampire would dare get close. (Wait, rainbows are a bit like sunlight, right? Sort of?)

SKIN

I wanted my skin to be sparklier than Edward Cullen’s face in the sunlight, so I started with my favorite Hourglass primer and then piled on the glitter. First I applied a thin coat of Ardency Inn Modster Light-Catching Eye Powder in Friendly Fire with a blush brush, and then went over it with super-fine iridescent Sephora brand glitter, carefully adding a bit to my neck, arms, and chest, too. Finally, I added a touch of TONYMOLY Crystal Blusher in Milky Violet and Lime Crime Zodiac Glitter in Ophiuchus to my cheekbones for some added gleam.

EYES

I had about 100 ideas and 50 products in mind for my unicorn eyes, but in the end I narrowed it down to four simple steps. Here they are:

3.) Add a black cat-eye to cover the seam of your false lashes. I used Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner because everyone knows it has the unicorn seal of approval (aka my seal of approval).

4.) Using silver liquid eyeliner, add some metallic glimmer to the corners of your eyes on both the top and bottom. I used Lorac 3D Lustre/Liner in Pewter, then went over it with Urban Decay Heavy Metal Liner in Distortion, because in mythical creature world, there is no such thing as too much glitter.

LIPS

I contemplated going for a lavender lip, one of my favorite shades of the moment, but since I already had a lot going on, I decided to opt for a bubblegum pink instead. I combined NYX’s Macaron Lippie in Rose with a touch of Inglot Cosmetics’ Lipstick 122, a shimmery silver-white, and the result was a perfect matte lip with the tiniest hint of sparkle.

HORN

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I am horrible at crafts. That being said, this horn is pretty simple -- unless you scald yourself with glue gun glue, which of course I did multiple times. Seriously though, unless you actually have hooves instead of hands (sorry, horse readers) you can totally do this. All you need is some thick glitter paper, a tiny bit of fabric, a plain headband, scissors, and a glue gun.

1.) Cut the paper into a triangle with a curved bottom. You’ll probably still have to trim after you glue, but this step will make things a lot easier regardless.

2.) Roll the triangle into a cone and glue it in place. Cut the bottom (large end) to make it sit as flat as possible.

3.) Take your fabric scrap and glue it to the bottom (again, large end) of your horn. Cut the edges of the fabric so it’s not visible.

4.) Using the fabric as a sort of mount, apply glue to the headband and fabric and stick them together. This will work best if you use a fabric-covered headband (I got mine from Ardene for $2) instead of a plastic one.

That’s it! You’re so ready to gallop off into the darkness, leaving a trail of glitter everywhere you go and warding off the dark creatures of the night with your magic and beauty. Or you can just go to a sweaty house party and dance like this:

What’s your favorite mythical creature? Do you ever channel it for Halloween, or are you more into that horrific chainsaw stuff?